River

It's River's birthday today. He's 10 years old this year. As they say, time really flies so fast... I can still remember when River is still a baby and our sole child... Alice and I usually bring him to various activities in the University and our colleagues are just too happy to see him and play with him... Now, River is already in Casa Level 4. He is currently the silver medalist (second honours) in his batch and is slowly getting the momentum to be active in many extra curricular activities. Just several weeks ago, he participated as a member of the school team in the division math quiz... prior to that, he participated in the district spelling and another competition I cannot recall right now...

I would say that River had grown up to be a disciplined child. He may not have the sense of responsibility right now, as any child would in his age, but he has the sense to follow what he's told to do and at least help in some simple household chores from time to time... he makes it a point to do his homeworks by himself (although he usually asks for the help of his mom for some more 'difficult' activities like doing projects and the like). Just like any other child, River is very fond of his yaya, whom he always asks for all the things a normal child would...

Of all the traits of River, the one thing we like most is his habit of reading... he spends most of his time reading - books and magazines, and whatever he likes... He even has a habit of reading some passages from his favorite books before going to sleep. He really likes reading a lot, that when asked what gift he should get - during Christmas or birthdays - he most often than not asks for books. When I go to a bookstore and he's with me, he would always ask me to buy him either a magazine or a book...

River is also, at a young age, a techie... he started using the computer at age 3... learned how to operate it by himself at age 4... and right now, ordinarily use the computer - the Web and the Internet included - in his homeworks, reasearch, and even for emailing and chatting... he doesn't like the mobile phone very much, my daughter Rain being more fond of that gadget than him, but he likes to play all sorts of electronic games there is, from PC games to XBox to gameboy games... he likes everything - from popular arcade games such as text twist to counter strike to world of warcraft, he likes them... most of all, he likes XBox's Halo...

River, just like my two other kids, is a gift for me and Alice... he is a source of our joy and one of our reasons for living (the other two being our two other kids Rain and Ash). He may have some of the mood swings of a typical child, but most of the time he's a kid trying to impress his parents and trying that his parents will be proud of him... we are proud of him... he has done many things to impress us... above all else, whatever he may do, we love him... he is one of our heroes...

Happy Birthday!